The Flood in the Eddas

"In days of yore a youth was born,

of sturdy strength, of the stock of gods;

at the edge of the earth etin maids nine

gave birth and suck to the brightest of gods....

He was nursed and grew on the sap of the ground,

on the ice-cold sea and the sacred boar's blood...

The stormy sea to the stars is tossed,

overwhelms the land - the heavens rive.

Thence come great snows and sweeping blasts.

They are doomed to die the dropping gods.

Was a Mighty One born, matchless in strength,

he was nursed and grew on the sap of the ground;

most high-minded he 'mongst the hallowed gods,

in sib with all sires and sons of earth.

A god will come then, and e'en Greater One:

I dare not speak his dreaded name.

Farther forward few can see now

than Woden fighting the Fenris Wolf."

In view of my recent posts I thought it best to revisit this piece in The Short Seeress' Prophecy since it relates to our times, obvious with the phrase - 'They are doomed to die the dropping gods". Had this been in the ancient past it would not be said in the present tense. The piece about the Mighty One is in the past tense and relates to the coming of the god Hama/Heimdall, clear by the description which fits perfectly. So, Hama appears before a Great Flood, and since we have already seen how this need not necessarily be a flood of water, then this could easily refer to a 'flood of migrants' or even some form of 'pandemic' - an airborne 'flood' - or maybe both. The 'great snows and sweeping blasts' may refer to a future event, or maybe just to certain areas affected over the last years, or maybe in years to come.

The earth is to be cleansed by Fire, which we find in The Prophecy of the Seeress, and also the earth sinks beneath the seas, as shown in the same verse (56). It is the Fire-Giant, Surt, who wields the Sword of Fire which 'like a sun doth shine' (Verse 51). The Earth arises renewed from the cleansing waters. 

The last verse is in the future tense and refers to Wid-Ar the Avenger who appears in the darkest hour of the Dark Age to destroy the Evil Powers that control the world today. This is the Last Avatar and Incarnation of Woden upon the Earth. This seems clear from the reference to the Fenris Wolf, and to this coming after Woden fights the Wolf. Woden is resurrected as Wid-Ar the Avenger, becoming the young Warrior-Hero who will wage war against the Powers of Darkness.